Thanks again to Diane from Canada here the latest Agee commercial which was uploaded on 9 September 2010 on YouTube , and with more than 400 000 views within only a few days immediately a real hit (more than 1,320 000 times accessed by now). By the way, the product, an electrical car and the message delivered by Agee seem to have raised quite some discussions...

However, it seems that Nissan was quite right when they contracted Agee instead of Lance Armstrong...

And on top of it: Nissan, smart as they are, uploaded even another video on a new Facebook page showing the shooting of the clip ... -

"Last Thursday we debuted “Polar Bear” the new Nissan LEAF commercial featuring the world’s first mass market, affordable zero-emission 100-percent electric vehicle, the Nissan LEAF...and a polar bear named “Agee.” Now take a look as we share a behind the scenes look at how the spot was filmed and learn more about the inspirations behind the ad."

"I am, though, a little concerned about the bear hugging the man. Could it be that he is not actually showing gratitude for the man's excellent environmental choice? Could it be that the bear believes that, being a homeless animal, the nice man will take pity on him, put him up in his spare room, feed him cookies and let him drive his car?"

On a more personal note, I am pretty sure that Agee knows well where she belongs too...

Can I smell glacier mints on board?What's fur dinner? A polar bear pokes his head through an Arctic ship's porthole. The hungry intruder popped in as the expedition vessel Stockholm paused on its journey through the ice to allow passengers to take in the spectacular views.

Delighted wildlife enthusiasts whipped out their cameras as they got a rare close-up of one of the locals from the frozen Norwegian island of Svalbard.

Expedition leader Andy Rouse, who took these amazing shots, said: "It was a magical moment. "The bear was clearly attracted by the smells coming from the ship's kitchen and poked his head through to have a good sniff around."

Sadly, by the time he arrived all that was left of lunch was a bit of cauliflower soup - hardly a fitting feast for one of nature's most voracious carnivores. So the disappointed bear finally lumbered off after finding nothing to eat - not even a n-ice berger...

"Since today, 07.09.2010, Knut is located inside of the polar bear rock.During the next few days days he will make himself familiar with the large enclosure. After that we will bring Knut together with the female polar bears step-by-step. Hence, we ask all fans of Knut for some patience. "

The isolation fence at Knut's old enclosure was already removed, at the new enclosure of the big polar bears Knut's name plate had been installed including a plastic sleeve with a printed slip of paper bearing a picture of Knut stating "My godfather is Manfred Rau".

OK, we all knew that something was planned, we knew even more than we begged for, anaesthesia darts were mentioned in case Knut could not be lured into the box ; the image of Knut as breeding bull supposed to provide new offspring with the three ladies, was already summoned since March, conception times were posted quasi publicly, making nearly everybody forget that Knut would probably not yet be sexually mature by spring 2011 (usually at age 5-6) ;

as date for the start of Knut's new life the 8th of October had made the rounds, then he was to succeed his father Lars in the large enclosure, as new companion for his slightly elderly "aunties" Nancy and Katjuscha and his mother Tosca, who in spite of all incestuous prophecies of doom does not seem to be moved to the Tierpark Berlin as first suggested ...

And so the whole timing has changed. Due to unconfirmed rumors Knut's early packing must have made the zoo director think, and when the window for the next tenants Bhumipol and Maika were cleaned, it was probably understood as a request to bring forward the move by even more than a month...

Sometimes people ask me here in Knut's Outpost on Rodrigues Island, what polar bears who are not living in a zoo are feeding on. Ever since I have seen this photo, I reply spontaneously "socks, what else?'

I stumbled over this photo already some months ago but missed to post it then. It belongs to a set taken in Nanuvit/Canada where a research team conducted a study, observing polar bears during the ice-free period.

The researchers take that as one of many proofs that polar bears have difficulties in sustaining longer ice-free periods. Hunger causes them to go different ways in order to find food. We all know that polar bears eat nearly everything what presents itself on their way when it comes to being hungry, also birds, but who would have thought that they had developed this kind of climbing skills, comparable only to mountain goats, in order to go for them or to steal their eggs?

Just to let it sink in....It is not only steep here, it is extremely steep...By the way, this happens in late June or July that the thick-billed murres lay their only egg to incubate it within 33 days. The researchers here are doing quite a dangerous job ringing the birds in these heights...

Except of birds I wouldn't have expected anyone over there. This seems to apply for the birds too, they do not particularly strike me as worried or scared, but maybe it is just a matter of not being used to have someone around at all who might become a danger to their lives.

"The extraordinary scene took place just metres away from a group of holidaymakers ... , who had stopped in a small rib (rigid inflatable boat) to take some shots on their wildlife photography expedition in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic.

On a ten-night cruise in the area on an ex-Russian research vessel, the group leaders had been told by a sister ship that a whale carcass had been spotted about a day and a half away.Photographer and guide Paul Goldstein, along with polar bear expert Dr Ian Stirlingdecided to head for the spot, knowing bears can smell meat from up to 200 miles away.Their gamble paid off as the mother and cub arrived to pick the last bits of blubber off the vertebrae, which Mr Goldstein estimated to have been frozen in the water for about two years. ..."

These polar bear-in-the-fireweed photos are well known and they were all taken (incl.the rainbow) by the German wildlife photographer Michael Poliza in August 2008. For sure, most known of all is the very serious looking polar bear in the second pic, often taken as shocking proof for the state of global warming...Polar bears without snow, that didn't exist in our imagination.

But in fact, during summer season there is a different life to discover in the Arctic, at least in the more southern areas, explicitly in the Western-Hudson Bay area. Beside lichens and mosses, there are also plants flowering colourful and in abundance like the beautiful fireweed on top or the different species of berries on which polar bears feed while waiting for the ice to reform.*

This year's voyage to the Arctic, just a few weeks ago on the "Bremen", which by the way once even moored for a couple of hours in the harbour of Knut's Outpost in Port Mathurin, lead Michael Poliza again via Greenland to the Hudson Bay where he did not only took arctic summer plants...

In total Michael Poliza counted 12 polar bears on his trip, the weather was at times rather agitated and rough.About 10000 photos he has taken..., a small selection can be seen via the links mentioned at the bottom...Enjoy!

"Food habits of polar bears on land during the ice-free period in western Hudson Bay were examined between 1986 and 1992. In contrast to previous studies, feeding on vegetation during the ice-free period was common. Between August and October, evidence of feeding was found in 34% of the females and 26 % of the males captured over 10 km inland from the coast. The primary forage was Vaccinium uliginosum and Empetrum nigrum berries. Feeding was most common in subadults and females. The incidence of feeding on berries varied annually from 2 to 41 %. We were not able to determine the energetic importance of terrestrial foraging, but the intake may reduce the rate of weight loss of bears on land, particularly in years when berries are abundant. ..."Source:- Terrestrial foraging by polar bears during the ice-free period in Western-Hudson Bay /Derocher, Andriashek, Sterling, submitted 1992 pdf (engl.)

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